My Company

After suffering through the grief and loss of my mother’s passing on Thanksgiving Day of 2008, it became increasingly apparent to me that end of life planning is a missing piece of the financial puzzle.

It has also become a source of passion and inspiration for me to help educate every financial professional regarding the win-win opportunity to help our clients and their families prepare their end of life plans and preferences in advance.

When meeting with clients or hosting workshops, I always reference a great quote from the legendary football Coach Vince
Lombardi, who said, "The main difference between failure and success is the amount of planning and preparation put into preparing for the future.”

The financial services industry frowns upon using the word "guarantee" when speaking with clients or prospective clients (excluding volumes of disclaimers). Yet if you think about it, every client and prospect we meet is guaranteed to die at some point. Of course, we all hope and pray we die later versus sooner. Unfortunately, life is not a linear journey. Rather, it is filled with constant changes, moving parts and unexpected events.

In addition to the grief and loss we know our clients and their families will experience, why do we overlook and ignore planning for their funeral? Seriously, why?

The two most common funeral-related questions

The two most common questions almost every family will ask after losing a loved one are:

There are a wide variety of benefits in discussing an end of life plan with your clients. Below is a list of five ways this discussion will benefit you, your clients and your future practice:
1. Value-added benefit for all existing and prospective clients
2. New door opener for prospective clients
3. Excellent networking opportunity
4. Enhance existing relationships and identify new opportunities
5. Add an often overlooked or ignored piece to the financial lives of the families we serveHow do you begin such a difficult discussion?

Through extensive research, study and expert help from the death care industry, I have compiled below some helpful questions to
consider when beginning this difficult discussion:

Does your spouse and/or heirs know your final plans and preferences? If not, do you want them to face the burden of burying you after you are gone?

Have you left instructions for your spouse and/or heirs specifying which assets they should use to fund your funeral?

How much do you think it would cost for one of your loved ones to be laid to rest today?

Would your family know your preferences if you were to die? For example: What type of memorial service? Which church or other location? Which funeral home or cemetery? Burial or cremation? Type of casket? Funeral flowers? Program guides? Who delivers your eulogy? Obituary details?

If you were to die today, do you feel like your current plan gives your spouse and/or heirs the type of financial future you would want for them?

About the Author

Christopher P. Hill, RFC® is currently the President of Wealth and Income Group, LLC, with offices located in the Washington, D.C. area. Mr. Hill began the first decade of his career in the financial services industry working closely with one of the nation’s leading money managers. For the pas... More